1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser for dispensing a fluid, said dispenser comprising a flexible pouch containing said fluid, a dispensing member such as pump for drawing off fluid from the flexible pouch, and an advantageously rigid shell in which the flexible pouch is installed. That type of dispenser is particularly applicable to the field of cosmetics, in particular for dispensing creams that are sensitive to exposure to the atmosphere. The use of a flexible pouch associated with an airless pump makes it possible to keep the fluid out of contact from the ambient air, thereby avoiding any oxidation or deterioration.
2. Description of the Background Art
In the prior art, numerous dispensers of that type exist using a flexible pouch and a relatively rigid shell. In all such dispensers, the flexible pouch is fixed either to the rigid shell, or to the pump directly, or else to a sleeve forming a transition between the pouch and the pump, the sleeve often being fixed to the rigid shell. When a transition sleeve is used, it is fixed to the rigid shell by snap-fastening. For that purpose, the rigid shell defines an opening through which the flexible pouch as connected to the sleeve must be inserted. Unfortunately, for that operation, it is necessary to fold the flexible pouch while it is still empty in order to pass it through the opening in the rigid shell. The sleeve can then be snap-fastened to the opening in the rigid shell. It then suffices to fill the flexible pouch with fluid and to fit the airless pump to the transition sleeve. That constitutes the most conventional technique used in the prior art.
In some dispensers of that type known from the prior art, the rigid shell is made up of two portions, but the connection line extends horizontally when the dispenser is held upright. Such a dispenser is described, for example, in Document FR-2 081 244.
Document EP-0 447 687 describes a dispenser provided with a shell in two portions that are connected together via a hinge. By causing the connection line to pass through the opening in the shell, it is possible to dispose the flexible pouch inside one of the two shell portions, and to complete the shell by closing said portion onto the other portion. The two shell portions hold between them a pouch support to which a pouch is bonded. A dispensing head incorporating a pump is fitted to the two shell portions by means of a screw-on ring. For that purpose, the two shell portions together form an opening in the form of a neck whose outside is provided with a thread. By being screwed onto the neck made up of two portions, the ring holds the two shell portions together. At the same time, another effect of the ring being screwed onto the neck is to press the inlet of the pump hermetically onto the pouch support. Therefore, by merely unscrewing the ring, the two shell portions are released and they can then be opened by being pivoted so as to extract the pouch together with its support from them. It should be noted that the ring is not fixed to the pouch support. That is because the dispenser is a refillable dispenser in which the pouch is replaceable. The head must not be fixed to shell and to the pouch support permanently. That is why the fixing technique used is screwing, which is easily reversible. The same applies in Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,212 in which the dispensing head is screwed onto the pouch support, the two hinged shell portions do not co-operate with the fixing ring so that they can be opened at any time.
Such refillable dispensers, which are used for household cleaning materials, do not offer much protection against tampering because it is very easy to extract the flexible pouch containing the fluid.
An object of the present invention is to provide a non-refillable dispenser having a flexible pouch to which the fixing ring is fixed permanently.
To this end, the present invention provides a fluid dispenser comprising:
a flexible pouch containing said fluid and provided with an opening;
a dispensing member such as a pump for drawing off fluid contained in the flexible pouch through said opening;
a shell surrounding said pouch and provided with an opening that coincides with the opening of the flexible pouch, said shell being made in two portions connected together along a connection line passing through the opening in said shell so that each shell portion forms a portion of the opening in the shell;
a pouch support to which the opening in the flexible pouch is fixed, said support being held in position between the two shell portions at the opening in the shell; and
a fixing ring for fixing the dispensing member;
the fixing ring comprising:
a fixing band portion snap-fastened onto the pouch support; and
a holding band portion engaged over the opening in the shell to hold the two shell portions together.
By snap-fastening the ring to the pouch support and by simultaneously locking the two shell portions together, it is impossible then to open the shell to extract the flexible pouch therefrom. The dispenser cannot be taken apart because it is not disassemblable. Unlike screwing, snap-fastening is permanent. There are therefore no equivalents in this application.
Advantageously, the two shell portions are provided with assembly means situated on the side opposite from the opening. Preferably, the assembly means comprise two snap-fastening systems of the male-female type, each shell portion forming a male connector and a female connector that serve to co-operate respectively with a female connector and with a male connector formed by the other shell portion. Advantageously, the two portions form two identical half-shells.
Furthermore, to facilitate assembling together the two shell portions, the shell portions are provided, at their connection line, with alignment and centering means for guaranteeing that the two shell portions are connected together in proper alignment.
In an original embodiment, at least one portion of the shell is provided with a window via which the flexible pouch is visible. When both portions are provided with respective windows, the shell is in the form of a frame surrounding the flexible pouch.
The invention is described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings giving an embodiment of the present invention by way of example.